I think the key to this thing we call G Living is to just dive right in. Open up your eyes, let in all the beauty around you. It’s there waiting to be re-discovered, waiting to be seen a new again. And nothing for me brings in the joy of just being more than cutting through the air on the back of a bike.

I personally have two bikes, one electric, the A2B by Ultramotor and one carbon fiber road bike by Kestrel. I love them both equally but they perform two very different transportation task for me. The Kestrel is about being connected to the road, feeling every bump, feeling the power of your own body moving you down the road. It’s about being a powerful force, which is an amazing feeling, that is if you are not too concerned about how you might smell once the ride has come to an end.

This opens up a whole world of destinations and more importantly it enables you to dress for the occasion and not the ride.

Now the A2B electric bike is a whole other story. It’s about taking you for a ride. The bike is the powerful one. Your job is to hold on and enjoy the ride, There is no effort, no worries, and most importantly no sweating. This opens up a whole world of destinations and more importantly it enables you to dress for the occasion and not the ride.

Portland always seems to be in the news because it’s considered one of America’s greenest cities. It’s also referred to as Bike City, USA because of its ranking as the top bicycling city in the U.S. and the city with the highest percentage of bike commuters. But it’s not a result of jumping on the green train — Portland has long been a bicycle-friendly city. In the 1970s, long before it was commonplace, the city encouraged cycling by creating bike lanes on major roads.

And in the last decade, Portland’s two-wheeling community has shown its appreciation by helping grow and nurture the city’s economy.

In addition to riders, Portland has a large cycling industry – from independent bike frame builders to local cycle clothing companies. Of course, there are also Portland-headquartered national companies such as Nike and Columbia Sportswear that contribute to the city’s bicycling interests, but a recent New York Times piece focused on local businesses like Team Estrogen, an online retailer that sells cycling clothing for women.

Commuting in a car here in the United States just plain sucks. Not only does it suck the fun out of your waking hours, it sucks the good air right out of the atmosphere (or releases bad air… whatever, semantics, and that doesn’t work as well for my lead).

Matra Manufacturing and Services may have an answer to your Commuter Sucking Blues. (Which is far different than the Toe Sucking Blues). Matra MS, formerly a motor sports design leader with their hands in Formula 1 and Le Mans, has come out with a line of Light Electric Vehicles consisting of high-performance electric bicycles and quadricyles, available in Europe this spring for around $5,000 USD.

Yes, a bike made from Flax, the same stuff you toss into your hydrator to make yourself some crackers. I am pretty shocked the flax fibre, is even strong enough. The designers made the Schwinn Earth frame out of 90% Flax Fibre, harvested from Northern France and 10% glass fibre, to stiffen the frame. Adding the glass fibre, may prevent this bike from being composted at the end of its life. One of you will have to try it and let us know.

It is a very cool looking / green bike. The concept on display had custom bags, handle bar grips by the design team of Sogreni.

I am getting pretty big into bikes, since I am preparing to escape L.A. and land in Portland Oregon. For those of you who don’t know, people from Portland are born with bike pedals glued to their feet. I know that sounds odd, but it has something to do with the water.

I also hear people from L.A. are not that welcomed up there, even if your blood does run green. This means, I need to be extra extra green. No more SUV driving, no more walking, no more running. From this point one, its all about being seen on a bike. I will bike to the store, to mail box, going out to eat, swimming, hiking, for everything. I will even replace my office chair, with a bike. To that end, I just found this completely original bike from PUMA. It’s called the Glow Rider Bike.

Possessing the quintessential PUMA characteristics of fun and functionality, the new model distinguishes itself through the unique glow in the dark frame. The bike is part of PUMA Urban Mobility, a collection created with the needs of a city dweller in mind, comprising apparel, accessories and footwear.

Now that your a Good Monkie and you ride your new shiny cooler than a rover bike, you need to make sure to protect it. If you don’t, there is a line of Drones out there looking to take it from you. When they see your bike, they don’t see a thing of beauty, no they see a quick buck. They will flip your precious two wheel friend like a $2 hooker to the first skanky john they can find. The thought just makes me sick to my stomach. I know this sucks and in my opinion is the worst part of being a good bike owner.

We all know a good bike, is one that cuts all the unnecessary weight, right? In fact the lighter they are, the more expensive and prized they become. So, when a good monkie has to turn around and buy 20 pounds of locks to protect their 5 pound bike, really really sucks. But that is life in the big city. So, until you move to some small country town or your own private island, you need to get your head into the keeping it lock up game.

Here is the problem. Most locks that seem to secure you bike really don’t. The bike thieving drones are ready to tackle most locks, cables and chains. So, what is a good bike monkie to do? Buy the best lock you can and use it properly. After the jump lock options and video to teach you how to lock your bike up.

This was the bicycle that featured in Basten Leijh’s Design Academy project. It’s a city bike which deals with all the problems bikes face today, and was bought by the international bicycle corporation ‘Giant.’ After appearing in a lot of exhibitions, and winning several prizes, it was called an icon of Dutch Design.

Move over Lance Armstrong, and forget the Tour de France. Prepare instead for the Tour de… Amsterdam? Well, not quite, but it is the hope of a small firm from Amsterdam, Bikedispenser, to help facilitate bike rentals in urban areas by installing bicycle dispensing machines. These machines would be located in various urban transportation hubs, such as train stations and parking garages, where people could quickly and safely rent a bicycle from the fully automated dispensing system. This would thus assist in integrating the use of bicycles into people’s daily commute. Along with the obvious physical benefits of cycling (exercise), this green, “G” idea would help cut down the carbon signature we so readily sign across the environment on a daily basis as we head to and from work.

Intrigued? Well, here’s the straight skinny (like we’ll be, once we start biking to work every day):

With the use of a chip card, the fully automated Bikedispenser rental station will give commuters access to new, state of the art bikes quickly. Within 15 seconds, the bike rental process will be underway and the commuter will be off to his or her destination. When the bicycle is returned, the system will once again recognize the commuter and finish the transaction. The bicycles will be placed in the clearly indicated depository and stored in a safe, indoor location.

A true Bike Monkie knows finding the perfect bike is only the first step to creating the perfect bike experience. To be a serious bike monkie, you need the entire car replacing package, which includes things like bags, lights, locks, rain gear, a helmet and yes a horn.

A horn on a bike? Yes, a horn, not a bell, not some digital ring tone emitting toy, you will need a real horn. Something that will blast the ear drums of all those drones who still think they need to drive 2 tons of steel, to pick up 20 pounds of groceries. The best lo-tech horn on the market seems to be the Airzound by Delta Cycle. The Airzound mates an air horn with a small water bottle size plastic bottle to hold the air. The horn attaches to your bikes handle bars with a large Shocking Orange button right under your thumb, ready to be used and easy to see. The air bottle simply straps to your bike frame. You can buy the horn for around $24 on Amazon or $40 on Delta Cycle site.

Were you the coolest kid in school? It was because you had a cool bike right? Pumped up with style and attitude, you popped wheelies around the playground knowing you were all that plus a bag-o-chips. Well, your chance to be a cool cruiser has come around once again.

Check out the hot rod flames on this bad boy ‘Hellbilly’ by Electra Bikes, for example. This sweet little attention magnet would make even a hell-on-wheels actor like Dennis Hopper drool. AND…this ride isn’t just for eye-popping style. Jump on, and you’ll maneuver over potholes, bumps, manholes, and curbs with grace and style. One smooth ride like this and you’ll want to “sexy-city-wheel-it” everywhere.

As we continue our quest for the perfect urban lifestyle bike, we take a look at a folder. Yes, a folder. One of those bikes, which in an instant break down and can be tossed in the back of a car or under your desk at work. The advantage of this type of bike are many. You don’t have to leave them outside tempting bike thieves, and you don’t have to have one of those ugly bike racks on the back of your car.

Todays folder is called the IF- Mode. It’s a cross between a storm trooper and a swiss army knife. The look is very modern and definitely unique, with it’s three simple spoked wheels. The cool thing is how this thing folds up so quickly. You should checkout the video after the jump. The down sides would have to be the price and the weight. Coming in at 32 pounds, it’s just half the weight of my A2B fully electric bike. Plus at $2,250 it is just as expensive. If the price doesn’t bother you, we found the bike for sale at Areaware.com

Other major cool factors are, the design won the 2008 Eurobike Award, and the 2009 iF Gold Award (along with the Apple iPhone, the Macbook Air and the VW Golf Mk6), the IF-Mode is a rolling, folding work of art and a bike collector’s dream machine.

I am happy to report that bike sharing has come to New York City again (it’s 2nd year)- where it is most welcomed and needed. Aside from all of the traffic congestion and pollution from the exhaust, most NYers or city dwellers do not have the space to keep a bike in their apartment and those left on the street -even with the biggest and most heavy duty locks very unfortunately get stolen or vandalized. A bike sharing system is great at helping to reduce the carbon footprint of commuters and enables users to become healthier through exercise.

Bike Sharing has been big in Europe for quite some time- most notably in Paris and Barcelona. Paris’s Velib’ bike sharing program is currently the largest, with a network of 20,000 specially designed bicycles distributed among 1450 stations throughout Paris. Barcelona’s bike sharing program, Bicing was launched in 2007 and has approximately 400 stations with 6,000 bicycles. While there this past year I saw many people taking advantage of the service. From what I gather their programs are either free or you pay a minimal fee. There are no attendants but rather a computer station where you check out and return your bike.